Live at home while you are in school
School is expensive enough as it is with tuition, books, supplies, etc. adding housing and the expenses that go along with that to your school bill can mean almost doubling what it costs you to go to school. While an education is very important, getting severely in debt, or being unable to save any money because of it is unwise. The following is an explanation of how much you can safe if you live at home while you are in school:
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- Room. The cost to rent an apartment while you are in school is going to vary based on where you live in the country, and the type of apartment you get. Most people who attend college live on campus their first year, and then find an apartment close by for their remaining years. Most pay at least $300 a month for a place to live that is relatively close to campus. If you were to live at home, where you parents, or someone else is paying the mortgage, and you are not paying rent, you would save yourself $3600 a year or more. Many people complain that the money they save in rent gets eaten up by the cost of gas to get to and from the school since they have a longer distance to travel. Even if you chipped in and paid some rent, you would still save over $1000 a year by living at home as opposed to living on campus. That is several tanks of gas. If you were to actually crunch numbers, you would find there is a good chance that you would save more on rent then what you would be spending on gas.
- Board.
If you live at home when you are in school, rather than moving out and finding your own place, you are going to save money on things besides rent. One of the high costs of living out of your home is that of utilities, food, entertainment, etc.When you are in college you need a few things: the internet, washing machine and dryer, light to study by, food to eat, etc. If you live at home (presumably at your parent's home) your internet will likely be provided as most families have internet access in their homes. you will have a laundry facility that does not eat your coins, or only work half of the time. you will have the convenience, and often unexpected savings, of having snacks, drinks, and food on hand that you do not have to pay for yourself, or protect from your cheap roommates.
Even if you choose to eat many of your meals out, not having to buy basics like sat and pepper shakers, oil, peanut butter, etc. will be costly. The fact that most people's homes are well stocked with food is a good indicator that you would save greatly should you live at home while you are in school.
While no one can be certain how great the savings will be by living at home rather than somewhere else, when you are in school, it is clear you will be able to save a lot during the course of your college career.
